DOMENICO SCARLATTI
Eighteen Harpsichord Sonatas
Jane Clark (harpsichord)
JANICULUM JAN D204
[63.06]
Crotchet
This is the Scarlatti who wrote 555 harpsichord sonatas of which these are
a sampling.
The harpsichordist, and guiding light behind this recording project and the
Janiculum label as a whole is Jane Clark. She also contributes the eight
pages of insert booklet notes. She has lectured widely on Scarlatti with
particular reference to the time he spent in Spain.
Scarlatti was originally Organist of St Peter's in Rome and had developed
a reputation as an opera composer. He left to become music director to John
V of Portugal and from there became music director to Maria Barbara and her
husband, Ferdinand , Prince of Asturias.
The sonatas (some of which may date from before his move to the Iberian
peninsula) echo with the guitar (as in K513), saetas, seguidillas, fandangos
and the roots of flamenco. If you revel in the sound of the haprsichord the
committed and flamboyant playing of Jane Clark (informed by her own research
into the man, the music and the milieu) makes this an attractive proposition.
Reviewer
Rob Barnett
